Flacco sharp, Ravens roll over Buccaneers 44-16

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Joe Flacco was sharp in his preseason debut, Bernard Pierce scored on a 20-yard run and a revamped Baltimore defense forced four turnovers in the Ravens' 44-16 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night.

Backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor threw a pair of TD passes for the Super Bowl champions, including a 21-yarder to LaQuan Williams, who also scored when he recovered a blocked punt in the end zone.

Josh Freeman and the rest of Tampa Bay's starters played sparingly, so most of Baltimore's scoring came against backups and newcomers to a defense that ranked last in the NFL against the pass last season.

Flacco signed a $120.1 million contract this offseason after leading the Ravens to their second NFL title. He worked two series, completing seven of nine passes for 57 yards and one interception.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.